Darling, Everything's On Fire
by Free-With-Wings
Summary: Pacific Rim Alternate Universe (AU) for Attack on Titan. It is 3rd person, changes POV every once in a while, and jumps around the timeline, eventually meeting a single ending. Multiple pairings, but mainly JeanSasha and Eremika. Rated M for langue and eventual violence, and possible other mature content.
1. Spark

**Pacific Rim AU for Attack on Titan. I know it's been done before, but I had an idea and decided to run with it. It's 3rd person, changes POV every so often, and jumps around on the timeline, eventually reaching a single ending. Please comment and leave some constructive criticism!**

* * *

It happened when he wasn't there. Jean Kirschtein was in Alaska at the wall with Commander Erwin Smith. Since he hadn't found anyone he was drift-compatible with yet, Jean was being informed on command and tactics. Therefore he had to know everything there was about the world-wide Kaiju security, thus making a day at the wall in Alaska necessary.

While he was gone, Sasha Braus and Connie Springer were in their Jaeger fighting a Class 3. Neither Jean nor Erwin knew of the attack—not that they had to be worried under normal circumstances—and they wouldn't have cared much anyway. This was just another day in the drift in case of an attack.

Well, not for Connie and Sasha.

* * *

"_I can't get him to wake up!"_

_Static. "You need to try harder, Braus." More static._

"_I can't wake him up! I keep trying! We need to get out, now!" her voice was screeching, her head was spinning and hurt so badly._

"_Braus, listen to me, you need to get out of there."_

"_S-sir," a smaller, meeker voice came through, "Get Sasha out of there."_

"_I'm not going without Connie, Armin."_

"_Sasha," his voice was louder now, "You need to get out of there. We can't deploy his pod, it isn't responding."_

"_I told you, I'm not leaving him, he'll die!"_

_Static again._

"_Sasha…" Armin's voice was soft, like down feathers in the cold. He didn't want to hurt her, but he didn't want her to get hurt either._

"_Armin, I can't."_

_Mike's voice was back: "Braus! Get the hell out of there!"_

_Static instead of silence. A sound: screaming. Crying._

_An alert on the screen: Pod 1 deployed._

* * *

"Listen up, you shitty brats," a short, raven-haired man stood in front of a line of new recruits for the Jaeger pilots, "You're here for the sake of humanity, and if any of you dumbasses make a mistake, it will cost not only you your life and your drift partner's life, but the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians. Think about that for a minute, let it sink in your thick, idiotic skulls. If any of you can't handle the pressure, get out."

"Captain Levi…." The small, blonde woman standing next to him reached a hand out, about to gently place it on his shoulder, but the man took a step forward. With a sigh, she dropped her hand and scowled. "You're going to scare them off."

"Good," Levi took slow steps in front of the recruits, "If you can't handle it, you'll die. Simple as that. Or have you forgotten, Miss Ral?"

She shook her head, copper-blonde bangs falling across her cheekbones. "Will you stop calling me Miss Ral? Have you forgotten I have a first name? We work together, old man."

"Petra," his voice was rough, yet soft in an odd way, "I'm not old." The young woman rolled her eyes and waved him off.

"Enough. Let's show them their quarters and let them eat. Training starts tomorrow morning at 0-Seven-Hundred." Petra Ral swiftly and gracefully turned before looking over her shoulder as the young trainees began to follow her, parting into pairs and thirds, talking.

Levi watched them go when a black-haired girl stepped up beside him with a Germanic-looking boy, "Sir, may we discuss drift compatibility with you?" she asked him sternly but with respect.

"No. We'll talk about it tomorrow. Go."

His curt response was enough for them to walk away, trailing behind the rest of the group.

"What a jerk," the boy muttered to his companion.

"Eren, don't be that way. You used to worship Levi."

"Shut up, Mikasa. He isn't all he's made out to be." At that, Mikasa didn't say another word.

The next day began their first day of training. When the recruits stepped into the sparring area, Captain Levi was already on the mat with another, older man: Commander Erwin. The two took turns with their bamboo fly rods, stepping forward and backward in time with one another, never laying a blow on the other that cannot be countered; though both of them were fighting their hardest. They were perfectly in sync, ending the mini-match two to two.

Murmurs rose from the crowd about how the two were such amazing combatants.

"You see, everyone, we are what you know to be as Drift Compatible," the older man began, "My name is Erwin Smith. Commander Erwin Smith. I will be viewing your training and helping you pick out your Drift partners. Being Drift Compatible means more than just being in sync physically—you must also match mentally and emotionally. The deeper the bond between two people, the better the more they trust one another, the more compatible they are."

More whispers rose from the crowd of trainees. After a while, Erwin was able to quiet people down with a raise of his arm. "Now, now," he dropped his arm, "We're going to have you partnered up. Remember that the objective to fight your best, but if a hard blow is landed, the two of you are not compatible. It is a conversation: knowing the other's moves as well as they know yours. You will be equals. Neither can be better than the other. Is anyone willing to step up first?"

Silence. Heads turned, eyes looking side to side as the students wondered whether or not they should volunteer. Then a hand rose.

"I'd like to try, sir."

A young man with two-toned copper blond hair stepped up toward the mat. Erwin offered him a handshake: manly and a single shake with a clap on the shoulder. "What's your name, kid?"

"Jean Kirschtein," the young man smirked a cocky grin.

"Thank you for volunteering. Who will spar with this brave soul?"

More quiet from the trainees, until someone stepped forward. A thin, lean girl came out of the crowd. She had long, auburn hair tied up in a ponytail, doe-brown eyes, and a curious yet fierce demeanor as she spoke, "I'll give 'em a go."

A single nod and a small smile from the commander, and he shook her hand. "And you are?"

"Sasha Braus, sir."

"Well, you two prepare yourselves: wrap your feet and ankles, and knuckles. Fly rods are against the wall. Pick one based on your height—they're organized by centimeters."

Rolling her shoulders back, Sasha Braus slipped off her zip-up hoodie, revealing a purple sports bra and just her black skinny althletic pants. After grabbing a fly rod, she sat down and quickly wrapped her feet, ankles, and knuckles in athletic tape. Reliving her dancing flexibility (she was trained in ballet before choosing the life of a Jaeger pilot), the young woman stretched herself against the wall, starting with a supported needle, the splits, and then other muscle-loosening positions.

Meanwhile, Jean was slowly recalling the steps of his martial-arts training he'd received. His knowledge in actual technique was limited, but it he was at no disadvantage, for he was rather good at assesing situations and fighting accordingly in response.

"Alright, kids, get on the mat," Erwin commanded, nodding toward where the two would begin their combat. They acknowledged him by stepping up to the mat. They stood on opposite ends looking at one another. Jean rolled his neck and adjusted his shoulders before taking a strong stance with his fly rod in front of him, held parallel to the floor. Sasha, on the other hand, smirked and gave Jean a small wink before spreading her legs so her feet were shoulder-width apart and held her staff angled by her hip.

"Begin."

The confident faces of the young soldiers suddenly turned serious, all arrogance washed away by the single word to advance. For a moment they studied one another, weighing their options of how to take down their opponent. Strengths and weaknesses were considered in quick flashes of thoughts as synapses fired in their quick-thinking brains.

Suddenly they clashed. The boy moved at her first, jabbing toward her ribs with the end of his fly rod. Sasha blocked the move incredibly well, quickly pulling her rod perpendicular to the floor to block him, twisting his staff and tossing him to the floor.

"One – Zero," Erwin called out, "Prepare once more."


	2. Flicker

_There it was, a giant. A monster. The ugly blue creature roared and screeched, shoving its way past buildings. It couldn't be stopped by guns, tanks, anything. Even the buildings crumbled in submission._

_A small hand tightly gripped another, "Come on, we need to get out of here."_

"_Wait, I want to see it up close."_

"_It's too dangerous, you know better! We have to get somewhere safe."_

_Squinted eyes and a pout looked from one young boy to another—the latter wide-eyed and scared. It was only natural to be afraid. After all, the only thing Kaiju did was kill._

_And kill it did._

_It wasn't long before one little boy looked at the half-body of his friend. Tears streamed down his face as he whispered, "I'm so sorry, Marco."_

* * *

Whoosh, slam! A punch, a kick, so fast it could be heard in the air. Standing in the training room was the young, copper two-toned hair man: Jean Kirschtein. His bangs were plastered against his forehead as beads of sweat trailed down his temples to his hard, clenched jaw. The sheen of sweat caused an odd glistening on his bared torso. As he tensed up to push forward with another punch to the punching bag, his slightly tanned pectorals flexed, his abs crunching as he hit forward. A loud smack rang out in the empty room as the bag swung backwards.

Huffing and panting, Jean stepped away from the punching bag and grabbed his towel, wiping the sweat from his eyes and forehead. He took a long drink of water from its bottle, letting out a satisfied sigh before setting it down so he could unwrap his knuckles.

He'd wanted the room to himself, so he got up at 4 am in order to do his own training. _Selfish_, he thought, _just like always. You've always been a selfish brat_.

That night had been the last time he'd seen his best friend. He tried to tell himself it had been the fault of the Kaiju, but he knew better. If he had just left with Marco when prompted, the freckled boy would still be alive. However, if Marco hadn't died, would he be here today to train? _Just another selfish act—out for vengeance, or a need for redemption?_

Jean figured he would go shower quickly before breakfast at 6:30. It was about 5:45 am, and he knew he'd be tired. He hadn't slept last night because of the nightmare he'd relived time and time again in his mind.

It'd been a week since the Drift Compatibility between the new recruits had been posted. Out of everyone, Jean was surprised to find that he had yet to be found compatible with anyone. It shouldn't have been as big a shock as it was. He just didn't fit in. The closest he'd came to finding a partner was on the first day of training with Sasha, but she'd been assigned to her friend, the comedic Connie Springer.

Naturally, Eren Jaeger and Mikasa Ackerman had been placed together. Even though his father had come up with the original designs for the Jaegers, Eren was nowhere near the scientific brilliance (and Captain Levi refused to give him special treatment). Apparently his mom had died in an attack, and his dad had gone MIA. Mikasa was the only person to keep him under control.

The only other person who had remained unassigned was Armin Arlert, a small blond boy with big, curious blue eyes. However, hardly two days later Dr. Hange Zoe had recruited him to help with her science experiments on Kaiju body parts. Now the boy stood side by side with Dr. Zoe and her comrade, Dr. Moblit Berner.

So Jean spent his time listening to the goings-on of the other trainees, who had now been testing their Jaegers in the labs, learning about proper drifting.

After breakfast, Jean followed everyone into the large laboratory. Standing in there were three smaller Jaegers. They'd been retired from combat a couple years ago, now used strictly for training.

"Alright, everyone. Today you actually take the drifting to its final level," Commander Erwin spoke loudly, standing before the young crew, "Your minds will finally meet, forming one thought process. Then you shall go out for a test-run—no combat, just walking. Should you encounter a problem, contact us immediately. Remember, do not hang onto a single memory of your partner's, and let them all flow by. It is dangerous to become caught up in something that is not yours."

Just then, Captain Levi and his assistant, Petra, walked up. The woman held a clipboard with paper for taking notes while Levi spoke.

"Listen up, Jaeger and Ackerman take Jaeger 1; Braus and Springer take Jaeger 2; Reiss and Ymir take Jaeger 3. Now go," Levi turned with a huff, "Ms. Ral, write down the information given to you by Dr. Zoe." With a nod, the woman scurried off to the booth.

Soon hydraulics sounded as the Jaegers started up. Jean looked upon the machines, _seems like they all drifted properly. That's good_. They began to move, and the large door opened for the pilots to walk their Jaegers outside. Blinking, the young man stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked toward the booth to watch the video footage.

Armin spun around in his chair, smiling brightly, "Hi, Jean! Look at how cool this is. The technology is so advanced, I feel like I'm a little kid at Disneyland!"

Chuckling lightly, Jean nodded, "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, man."

The blond boy's face fell, "I'm sorry you couldn't find a partner. Don't worry, you'll find one. Soon you'll be out there with everyone else. I mean, I'm sad that I couldn't go with Eren and Mikasa, but I'm more helpful here than I am out there."

With that, the boy turned back to his screen. Jean knew that it was best for him to stay positive and accept Armin's kind words, but it still bothered him. If Marco were there, Jean would probably have a partner. _That's your own fault, though. Don't be greedy and jealous._

Shocked out of his thoughts, Jean jumped as a red light started flashing. Leaning over the table, Dr. Zoe seemed to be freaking out.

"Something's wrong! There's a Kaiju out!" the woman screeched, whirling around to grab Dr. Berner by the shoulders.

"T-that's impossible, by my calculations we shouldn't have one again until this evening…."

"I'm telling you, the radar shows one! Throw out your dumb numbers. We have an emergency here!"

Sirens began wailing in the lab, men and women ran around trying to prepare for what was to come. The commander rushed into the room, Levi hot on his heels.

"The recruits are out there, we need to send someone out to the Kaiju, now!" his thick eyebrows were furrowed tightly, making creases in his forehead. Captain Levi's jaw was set, arms folded. He tried to look stoic, but Jean knew better: he was just as worried as everyone else.

"Sir," Levi began, "We need to go out there. No one else will be able to protect the kids. Shitty four-eyes and her friend here will keep an eye and let everyone know what's going on."

"I think you're right. We should go," the two men were off, running down the hall before anyone could say anything.

Static crackled as a nervous voice called out. There was a signal light from Jaeger 2. "D-dr. Zoe?" it was a girl's voice. Sasha Braus.

Hange leaned forward and turned the volume up, adjusting her microphone, "Don't worry dear, Erwin and Levi are on their way."

"N-no, it's not that. Something's wrong!" she sounded close to tears. Armin and Jean exchanged a worried glance before leaning in to listen more.

"I-it's Connie. Something's happening, I can't do anything. My head hurts. Whatever is going on is bad; really, really bad!"

Just then, a rather tall, bearded man came up behind Hange and Armin, "let me handle this. Hange, go find Erwin and Levi. Moblit, follow her." With stiff nods, the two scientists acknowledged him before hustling out of the booth.

"Sasha Braus, this is Mike Zacharias. Do you remember me from training?" Revelation swept over Jean. Yes, he was the man who worked closely with his partner—Nanaba. They were quite the team, as was evident when video footage of their drifting was played for the recruits. After the video the man and woman answered drifting questions.

"Yes, sir."

"A Kaiju is on its way, you know this, right?"

"S-sir, it's awfully close," her voice trembled.

"Yes, I understand. Now listen, I need you to get out of there—"

A screech cut him off, as well as the sound of groaning metal.

"Shit!" Mike gripped the desk, teeth clenched, "Braus, talk to me."

"We've been attack, but Levi and Erwin just showed up… Mike?"

"Yes, Braus?"

"C-Connie's been hit. He's unconscious!" her voice panicked now, high-pitched and scared.

"What?" Mike seemed furious, not at Sasha but at the whole situation. There was a fire burning in his eyes that caused a shiver to go down Jean's spine. Armin looked from Jean to Mike, then scooted his chair over to the microphone.

"He won't respond, sir."

"You need to wake him up."

"I can't get him to wake up!"

Static. "You need to try harder, Braus." More static.

"I can't wake him up! I keep trying! We need to get out, now!" her voice was screeching, her head was spinning and hurt so badly.

"Braus, listen to me, you need to get out of there."

"S-sir," a smaller, meeker voice came through, "Get Sasha out of there."

"I'm not going without Connie, Armin."

"Sasha," his voice was louder now, "You need to get out of there. We can't deploy his pod, it isn't responding."

"I told you, I'm not leaving him, he'll die!"

Static again.

"Sasha…" Armin's voice was soft, like down feathers in the cold. He didn't want to hurt her, but he didn't want her to get hurt either.

"Armin, I can't."

Mike's voice was back: "Braus! Get the hell out of there!"

Static instead of silence. A sound: screaming. Crying.

An alert on the screen: Pod 1 deployed.

Stumbling backward, Jean placed his palm on his forehead, breathing deeply. That was it, the first of their class to die, and they hadn't even finished training yet. Connie may have been annoying at times, but he was always good to have around, keeping the mood light. He'd been a friend to everyone.

* * *

As it turned out Levi and Erwin were able to take down the monster, avenging the young man killed in the attack. That evening, at dinner, the whole mess hall was quiet. The table was missing two people, but no one talked about one of them.

"Do you think Sasha is alright?" a girl, Mina, asked.

"She's in shock, has a cracked rib," Armin reported solemnly, "She's very lucky."

"If I can, I want to bring her some flowers," Mina said softly, looking around at everyone else.

"I'll come," Historia said, big blue eyes looking slightly sympathetic. After all, she didn't talk much, nor did she show much emotion.

"Me too," Ymir nodded. It was obvious she was going because of Historia. Ymir didn't care for Sasha much.

"I'll see what I can do," Mikasa looked between the girls before turning to Armin, "Do you want to come? I'll drag Eren along as well. She probably needs a lot of support. You're good at that kind of thing."

The boy hesitated before nodding, his blond bangs swishing across his forehead.

Jean couldn't stand to stay there with all the talk. After all, he was too close to death the way it was. Why did he sign up for this? He should have known that his friends would die. _At least you'll have someone who will hang back with you when the others go out_, he thought. Shaking his head furiously, he grimaced at his own mind. _No, stop the selfishness. Sasha is in a lot of pain right now. You don't deserve the satisfaction that someone knows what you feel_.

With that, he took off to his own room.

* * *

**Sorry this took so long! I had horrible writer's block with this piece, as well as being terribly busy. Nonetheless, here it is!**


End file.
